Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 17959, Amos Foster, Mass.

SERVICE
Mass.
Foster, Amos
NUMBER
S 17959
CONTENTS
carded

132142
Massachusetts
Amos Foster
of Middlesex in the State of Mass who was a Private in the company commanded by Captain _____ of the _____ commanded by Col Bridges in the Mass line for 16 (Vary 14 Days) Mile
Inscribed on the Roll of Mass at the rate of 54 Dollars 88 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1834.
Certificate of Pension issued the 12 th day of June 1833 and Sent Hon J. Nelson Present
Arrears to the 4th of Mar 1833 $109.76 Semi-ant. allowance ending 21 Sep " 27.44 $137.20
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by J. H. McMain Clerk, Book 6, Vol. 2 Page 25;
80 Middlesex

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
County of Middlesex ss.
On this seventeenth day of August A.D. 1832 personally appeared in open Court before the Court of Common Pleas  Probate , now sitting at Concord within and for the County of Middlesex in the Commonwealth aforesaid Amos Foster of Tewksbury in said County aged Seventy Eight years
Who being duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress, passed June 7th 1832. That he entered the service of the United States, under the following named officers, and served as herein stated. That is to say - In 1775, early in the morning of the 19 th of April he went under arms, as a militia soldier, to Concord, was in Concord fight, the British being repulsed, retreated back & he followed them to Charles Town , there enlisted into the service for the term of Eight months , was attached to Col Ebenezer Dudgeon's Regiment, and John Brooks was major - was stationed at Cambridge, then served the term of Eight months & four ten days , over, waiting for the new recruits, then was dismissed & returned home to said Tewksbury, the last of December or the first of January following - was in the Battle of Breed's or Bunker Hill , on the 17 th of June - his captain was killed, & his Lieutenant took the command the remainder of the Campaign - Enlisted under Capt. Benjamin Walcutt of Chelmsford , John Flint, Lt, and one Sitch of Bedford , was Ensign - Genl. Putnam , Major General - Saw him frequently during the Battle, heard him give orders, saying "Fire low, God curse 'em, break a leg in an arm & it will take two to carry them off." Saw also Genl. Warren after he was shot down, heard him say, "Fight for the salvation of your Country for I'm a dead man" Genl. Washington arrived not long after & took command. - Still in 1776, he again enlisted at Tewksbury , under Capt. Zachariah Sitch of Groton , for the term of five or six months , does not recollect which, in the month of June he thinks, to go to the North to Scituate - marched in the month of July to Groton , was there inspected by Dr Prescott , then to Skeensborough in York State , then to Scituate in boats - was there attached to Col Brewer's Regt. stationed upon Mt. Hope Lt Col Corliss - Col Willard's Regiment next to Col Brewer's - The whole under the command of Genl. Horatio Gates . At the end of his term of enlistment, he returned home again to Tewksbury , in December as near as he can recollect, was quite into the winter -
In 1777 - he again enlisted, in the month of July or August, under Capt Edward Farnum of Billerica , marched inmediately and arrived to the North River opposite to Stillwater in York State , there marched up to Fort Edward , where they joined the Army under Genl. Gates - does not recollect his Col's name, at this time - was at the surrender of Genl. Burgoyne , guarded the Prisoners down to Cambridge or to Winter Hill - was then discharged & returned home to Tewksbury again he thinks in the month of November - has always supposed that he was in the service this term, three months . - He has no documentary evidence never receiving any written discharge - He has no proof from the records of the town of Tewksbury that he was discharged from the service of the United States - The other terms are proved by Depositors arranged.

He relinquishes every claim, whatever, to a pension or annuity, whatever except, the present, and declares that his name is not on the pension roll, of the agency of any State, Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid
We
Amos Foster
Jacob Goggins — a Clergyman residing in the town of Stockbridge in the county of Middlesex & Ebenezer Bean  Span  Stockbridge hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Amos Foster who has subscribed and sworn to the above, and that we believe him to be seventy-eight years of age, that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood, where he resides, to have been a soldier in the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion. Sworn and subscribed the day and year aforesaid,
Jacob Goggins Ebenezer Bean
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, that after the investigation of the matter, and putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above named applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states. And the Court further certifies that it appears to them, that Jacob Goggins who has signed the preceding Certificate is a Clergyman resident in the Town of Stockbridge & Ebenezer Bean .
Isaac Fisher  Request on  J. P. May  Clerk of the Court of Probate in and for the county of Middlesex do hereby certify, that the foregoing contains, the original proceedings, of the said Court, in the matter of the application of Amos Foster for a pension. and that Marshall
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at office this day of in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and thirty
Providence whose own proper signature is set to the affidavits of the Depositions hereunto annexed is a part of the within and for the county of Middlesex
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this seventeenth day of August A D 1832
J. P. May

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Middlesex, to wit,
At the Court of Probate begun and holden at Concord within and for the County of Middlesex on the seventeenth day of August A. D. 1882 On the application of Mrs. Foster claiming to be a Soldier of the Revolution, the following Interrogatories were propounded to him to wit:
1. Where, and in what year were you born?
Answer, Was born in Tewksbury in said County, in the year 1784 on the 23 d day of May.
2. Have you any record of your age, and where is it?
Answer, This birth recorded in the Town Records of Tewksbury
3. Where were you living, when called into service, where have you lived since the Revolutionary War, and where do you now live? Answer,
Always lived in Tewksbury -
4. How were you called into service, were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute, and if a substitute for whom? Answer,
Volunteered to go to Concord - the other terms, soldiers being called for, he engaged to go or enlisted as he has before stated. -
5. State the names of some of the regular Officers, who were with the troops, where you served, such Continental, and Militia Regiments, as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your service?
Answer, Has named them before - General Gates - Colonels Brainerd & Willard - Major John Brooks. - During his 8 months service at Cambridge Genl. Washington arrived & took command. -
6. State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood, and who can testify as to your character for veracity, and their belief of your services as a Soldier of the Revolution?
Answer,
Rev. Jacob Coggin - Ebenezer Bean. -
Middlesex ss. In Probate Court August 17, 1882
Sworn to in open Court
Attest Isaac Fiske Clerk

R
17959
INVALID.
em
File No. 17,959
James Foster
Pro Rev War
Act: June 7 th 82
Index: —Vol. 1 , Page 442
[Arrangement of 1870.]

7110
Amos Foster
Return this with the paper
Capt Walker's Co. Col. Dodge's Regt. Mass Line
5 - $ 54.88.
P. 288
Paid 16 Mo 14 days
Gen. P. Nelson

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Amos Foster which require further proof or explanation.
I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? yes II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? yes III. If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason assigned for his not doing so? IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? yes V. * Has he mentioned with precision the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served, in language so definite as to enable the department to determine to what amount of pension he is entitled? No VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? yes VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? yes VIII. Has the Court given their opinion? yes IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? yes X. Is the Clerk's seal affixed? And if so, has it a device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal? yes

XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolutionary service? yes
XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it?
XIII. If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony of at least one living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had? Witnesses
XIV. † If the applicant has produced a witness or witnesses as to his service, has the magistrate who administered the oath certified that he, she, or they are persons of credibility? yes
Has the official character and signature of the magistrate been certified by the proper officer under his seal of office? yes
XV. Does it appear from any of the papers that the witness was in such a situation, or of such an age, as to have a personal knowledge of the applicant's service? yes
XVI. ‡ Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? No
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered? yes 
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
* QUERE V. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words:
“Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades: For _____ year _____ months and _____ days, I served as a _____. For _____ months and _____ days, I served as a _____; and for such service I claim a pension.”

It is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which the applicant served, and the particular rank he held, as the law directs the pension to be paid according to the grade of the pensioner and the length of his service. The use of the phrase about three or four months is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable.
†QUERE XIV. Proof of Service.
In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he must prove his service by two credible witnesses, who are required to set forth in their affidavits the time of the claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the regiment, company, and line to which he belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.
‡QUERE XVI. Mode of authenticating papers.
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticated the papers is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other paper authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the end of which must pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached to the certificate.

I John Wright of Billerica, in the County of Middlesex of seventy six years of age, on oath, testify and say, that I enlisted in the year, 1775, in one or two days after I re- turned from Concord Light, to go into the service in the army of the Revolution for the term of Eight months. went immediately to Cambridge, & served that term, and about fourteen days over, at said Cambridge
That Mr Amos Foster of Ipswich, enlisted at the same time, and went to Cambridge & served that term with me. - We both belonged to the same Regi- ment, but to different companies, - Our Colonel's name, was Ebenezer Bridge, - our Major then, was the late Governor Brooks. - Capt John Hornden was my Captain - I saw said Foster daily, was frequently on guard and fatigue duty, with him. - was well acquainted with said Foster, before we went, into the service -
I further testify that I again enlisted into the service for the Northern Campaign, for the term of six months in the year 1776. - That about the tenth of June of the same year, we marched on to the North, to Siconderoga, and then served that term, and until the close of the Campaign which was in the winter. - That the said Amos Foster enlisted & marched on at the same time, with me, and served during the Campaign with me, - we both belonged to the same Company, commanded by Capt. Zaccheus or Zach- ariah Litch. The Colonel's name, was Samuel Brewer. -
John Wright

Middlesex ss. June 27 th 1832 - Then personally appeared the within named who is a credible person John Wright, and made oath to the truth of the foregoing deposition, by him subscribed -
Before me Marshall Preston Just the Peace -

Amos Foster
Declaration.
1110
1777

Other Accounts due per J. Amory Boston Oct 10 1840 Amos D. Foster Declaration 1115
Handwritten Chinese characters, possibly '天澤' (Tianze).

I Oliver Richardson of Billerica in the County of Middlesex do hereby certify that in the Eighty two years of age, on oath testify to say, that in the months of July or August, about 1777 , as near as I can recollect, I enlisted as a soldier in the army of the Revolution to go to take Burgoyne, as it was said, - marched to Bennington Vermont, arriving there a day or two after the battle at that Place, then to Fort Edward & to Fort George, then to Saratoga was at the surrender of Burgoyne, afterwards guarded the Hessian Prisoners down on to Winter Hill at Charlestown and returned home the November or December - I further testify to say that Amos Foster of Ipswich in said County, enlisted and marched on with me at the same time in the same Service, in Capt Edward Farnes's Company, St. Jacob Richardson, the Ensign was of Bedford, his name not recollected I served the same term with me which I have always considered was three after months, or more, according to the best of my recollection -
Oliver Richardson
Middlesex ss. August 9 th 1832 Then personally appeared the above named Oliver Richardson who is a credible witness & made oath to the truth of the statement by him above subscribed.
Before me Marshall Preston Jus. of the Peace -

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. County of Middlesex ss.
On this twenty eighth day of March A.D. 1833. personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, within and for said County of Middlesex, Amos Foster of Peabody in said County who being duly sworn, deposeth & saith, that, by reason of old age and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively, as to the precise length of his service, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the period mentioned below and in the following grades. -
For Eight months and fourteen days, in the year 1775, I served at Cambridge & the vicinity as a private -
For Five months, in the year, 1776 in the Northern Campaign I served as a private -
For Three months, in the year 1777, in the Northern Campaign, at the time of Burgoyne's surrender, I served as a private, for which terms of service aforesaid I claim a pension -
AMOS FOSTER
Sworn to and subscribed, this 28 th day of March. A.D. 1833.
Before me Marshall Preston. Jus of the Peace
I further certify that the above named Amos Foster is the same person, who made oath to & subscribed the original declaration to which this is annexed -
Marshall Preston Jus of the Peace

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Middlesex County, ss.
I Isaac Fiske, Register of the Court of Probate, within and for said County of Mid- dlesex do hereby certify, that Marshall Preston Esq whose proper signature is set to the captions of of the affidavits & depositions hereto annexed, is a justice of the Peace, within & for said County of Middlesex —
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal, this nineteenth day of April A.D. 1833.
Isaac Fiske